Pregnancy and Dental Health is Discussed by Warren Dentist

Hi, I’m Dr. Greg Apsey here in Warren, Michigan. I’d like to talk with you today about pregnancy and dental care. A lot of people have the feeling or belief that when they’re pregnant they have to stay away from the dentist. Well, I just want to be real clear that, it’s best to continue with your regular checkups when, pregnant. I want to let you know a little bit about when it is safe to do more invasive procedures during pregnancy.

Okay, so, first off pregnancy changes everything as you probably know. The hormonal levels are all off and well, they’re not off they’re just different in the body during pregnancy. And those that change in hormones affect the type of bacteria that will grow up in the mouth.

So what we find is that on a person who was really quite healthy or seemed quite healthy, once they become pregnant their gums start to bleed and they begin to have gingivitis and problems arise. So it’s very important during pregnancy, that you continue to maintain your teeth in very good condition. You want to continue with your brushing, flossing and regular cleaning and checkups. It’s absolutely critical.

Now, generally, women are sensitive about not having x-rays during pregnancy and we to, honor this, even though we cover and if we needed to take an x-ray we can do it, perfectly safely for the baby, but we generally will, avoid x-rays unless we absolutely need them. And if we do need them that we’re gonna cover, the pregnant belly and such that there’s no radiation that’s gonna get into the developing fetus.

The safest time to do dental treatment, that means the safest time when you can take the antibiotics or have a local anesthetic to numb the teeth so just in case something did happen and you really needed to have some care. The safest time to do it is in the second trimester.

So, first and third trimesters, there are certain things happening with the development of the baby and it’s better to stay away from any kind of injection of anesthetic during that period of time. It’s best to plan, to know in advance. If you know you’re going to become pregnant then, go in for a check-up and make sure that your oral health is in good condition. If you need x-rays, have them done then and that way you don’t have to worry about that during pregnancy.

The other thing that happens during pregnancy for a lot of women is that their diet changes, they desire certain types of food that may not be so healthy for the mouth. Also there may be some nausea and vomiting that happens during pregnancy. So if you happen to be having morning sickness, it’s very important afterward to clean up real well and to rinse out right away. It’s not really a good idea to brush your teeth immediately after. If you do have to vomit it’s best to wait half hour or so before brushing. So, what you do afterward is just rinse your mouth out really well with water and wait a little bit before brushing. The problem is, that acids in the stomach are so intense that the enamel actually can be eroded somewhat. And if you’re then brushing you actually can remove healthy enamel from the teeth. So you want the saliva to come and bathe the teeth and remineralize the teeth before you’re going ahead and brushing.

Your diet may change, like I said before. So, if you find yourself craving sweets, or craving any sorts of foods which would tend to erode your enamel, like acidic foods, that sort of thing. You need to make sure, again, that you’re trying to limit the number of times in a day that you’re having the sweets or the acids. And, you’ll also want to make sure that you’re keeping your teeth really clean. So, again, you’re going to want to be brushing, flossing and going to the dentist regularly. But it’s not true any longer that you have to lose a tooth with every baby. It’s just not the case. It used to be believed and I know a woman who grew up in the Soviet Union, and she lost 11 teeth for her 1 child and that was because of poor diet, lack of care, and it was just, the belief system of her, in her culture.

If you’re going to get pregnant, plan, be proactive, and go have a checkup with your dentist. Thank you for listening.